Bruce Ndlovu , Sunday Life Reporter
LIKE a lot of adolescent girls growing up in Bulawayo and other parts of Zimbabwe, Nonduduzo Ncube was an avid reader of Mills & Boon novels.
For many young ladies, as they reach puberty, reading a Mills & Boon novel is a rite of passage, a literary ritual on the road to becoming a fully-grown woman.
As the excitement of their first romance in their life also beckons, the books are an impeccable mirror of the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling that they envision engulf them when they start to fall head over heels.
It is no wonder that the country’s library shelves are chockfull of books from this publishing house, founded by Messrs Gerald Mills and Charles Boon in 1908.
While the books opened a window into the titillating window of romance awaiting her in her later years, for Ncube, this was not enough. Something just did not feel right within her soul. As a well-read young woman, she noticed that, while romance and the touchy subject of sex were explored in depth in English literature, the same could not be said for isiNdebele.
In a way, it felt as if people fell in love and explored that love for each other, only in English. This was one of the inspirations behind Buchitheka Bugayiwe novel, her daring foray into the world erotic storytelling in isiNdebele.
“When I was in high school, I really enjoyed reading Mills & Boon so as I started my writing journey, I never thought I would go that route,” she told Sunday Life in an interview.
“So, I just thought that all the romantic or erotica novels that I read were in English and I never came across a Ndebele one. Even when I talked to my friends, they mentioned that there were no erotica novels in isiNdebele and the ones that were there were in isiZulu. We don’t have Ndebele erotica novels written here and I saw a gap and I thought maybe I could fill it.”
While Ncube ackolwedged the need to talk about love and sex in isiNdebele, doing so was not as straightforward as it might sound. Culturally, sex is a subject that is spoken of in hushed tones, a sacred ritual that might offend some were it to be clumsily put in print. With this in mind, Ncube said her book had to go through a thorough editing process before it reached its final form.
“I was quite hesitant because I was not sure how people would take it. Were people going to appreciate my work or not? So, that was something that I kept on asking myself. I was also worried about language use. I didn’t want to sound too vulgar and culturally wrong so in terms of language and vocabulary, I was quite worried about it. What encouraged me was that I actually gave my manuscript to my peers after I had finished it and a lot of editing was done there to come up with something I was satisfied with. With the first manuscript, I was quite direct with the language when I was describing sex scenes. As time went on, I tried to polish it up, working with people who were helping me here and there. I tried to improve the language and make it enjoyable to the reader while at the same time making it respectable and “correct”. So, that was the challenge with writing Ndebele erotica but I learnt quite a lot and I am working on the sequel which is also erotica,” said Ncube.
The author said while writing the book, she was not worried that she, a female writer, would be derided for putting out work that might be seen as morally bankrupt or sexually depraved, especially in a country that sometimes has conservative leanings like Zimbabwe.
Nonduduzo Ncube
“In terms of being perceived in a negative light, I wasn’t really worried about it because I feel like sex is not something that we should be embarrassed about. It’s something that is part of our lives and when we talk about private body parts these are not embarrassing things to talk about. What I was worried about was writing the story in a way that was going to be enjoyable and not disrespectful. People can be, I don’t want to use the word sensitive but it’s close to that when it comes to these things.
“People can feel disrespected by the way that you write your story and they can start debating about you and your work. That was what I was worried about because I wanted people to read the story, enjoy it, learn from it, and appreciate it. That was my main concern. The book has been appreciated in a way that I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect the sales to be what they are right now because people are buying it and people keep on asking about the sequel. The sequel is there and I am polishing it up and I hope to release it next year,” she said.
While she might have been content to be known as the pioneer of erotic romantic novels in isiNdebele, Ncube has not stopped there. Every other Saturday, along the corner of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and 9th Avenue next to Bulawayo Centre, Ncube sets up Emsikeni, her own vending stall where she sells her books. This, she said, was something she took up after realising that local bookshops had little appetite for locally authored books.
“What made me do that is that at one time I was approaching local bookshops while trying to push my books and I was disappointed because they were saying they don’t take local books that are not set books in schools. In a way, I was very disappointed and I felt there was nothing I could do. But then I thought to myself, these guys don’t owe me anything. It’s not like it’s their duty to sell my books so instead of getting angry at them, why not come up with a better solution? So, that was the idea that I got.
“When I started doing it, it was more like a pilot thing to see if it could work and yes, it did work and I feel like this is one of the best ideas that I have come up with because every Saturday, I set up my stall and every Saturday I sell. Every Saturday I am guaranteed to sell at least four or five books and the way that people welcomed the idea encouraged me to keep doing it,” she said.
A go-getter, Ncube, who is also an actress, said she was inspired by the legendary Barbara Makhalisa to pick up the pen. While she follows in the footsteps of the fine lineage of Ndebele female authors, Ncube said she was also inspired by other young modern day Zimbabwean writers.
“As I grew up, I was mostly familiar with authors whose books were our set books at school, the likes of Barbara Makhalisa, Sigogo and others. Actually, Barbara Makhalisa is still my favourite author. I have one of her books that I used to read a long time ago and even now I still go back to it once in a while. The book is called Umhlaba Lo and I constantly revert to it so I can say that she was my main inspiration. I think the fact that is a woman writing Ndebele books inspired the extent to which I admired her. As I grew up I also got inspired by the young authors that are doing well right now. I am talking about the likes of Yvonne Maphosa, Sue Nyathi, who are young female authors who are doing quite well. I actually follow them on their social media, hoping I will learn something from them and I have actually been learning a lot,” she said.